Two weeks ago, as the sun was about to sink behind the mountains to the west, I glanced up from my desk.
Light and shadow highlighted the Mexpost pink of the bougainvillea against the backdrop of a Frida Kahlo blue wall. Ahhh…
Archive for the ‘Gardens’ Category
Colors of Mexico
Posted in Casita Colibrí, Flora, Gardens, Travel & Tourism, tagged bougainvillea, bugambilia, colors of Mexico, flowers, Frida Kahlo blue, garden, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos on August 8, 2017| 4 Comments »
Week in Oaxaca – Day 1
Posted in Churches, Food, Gardens, Museums, Restaurants, Travel & Tourism, tagged Casilda Aguas Regionales, churches, Ethnobotanic Garden, Jardín Etnobotánico, Los Danzantes restaurant, Mercado Benito Juárez, Mexico, Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca, Museum of Oaxacan Cultures, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, Santo Domingo de Guzmán, Week in Oaxaca on July 3, 2017| 3 Comments »
Recently, as previously mentioned, a friend came to visit for a week. It was B’s first time in Oaxaca and we packed a lot of sightseeing and delicious dining into just six days. B is an architect and, among other things, is an archeology buff, so those interests helped shape our itinerary (as in, not a shopping expedition). Naturally, the six days sailed by, but the sailing was so smooth and flowed so well that it occurred to me a blog post chronicling our adventures might be helpful to future visitors and hosts.
B arrived on a Monday night, so Day 1 began the next morning, when we rendezvoused on my terrace so he could begin to get his bearings as I pointed out landmarks. Our first stop was to gaze at the gold and gilt interior and up at the impressive family tree that decorates much of the ceiling of Santo Domingo de Guzmán.
Santo Domingo de Guzmán and its former monastery.
After being thoroughly wowed, we went next door to the former monastery, now the Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca. Arranged in historical epochs, the 20+ rooms are an historical treasure trove that include treasures excavated from Tomb 7 at Monte Albán. Also on the extensive grounds is the glorious Jardín Etnobotánico, an impressive ethnobotanic garden of plants native to the state of Oaxaca. While we had no time to take a tour of the garden (the only way to visit), the views from the museum are spectacular.
Looking down on the Jardín Etnobotánico from the Museo de las Cultures de Oaxaca
Leaving the museum, we strolled down Oaxaca’s walking street, Macedonio Alcalá (aka, Andador Turistico), across the zocaló, past the Palacio de Gobierno, to the Mercado Benito Juárez. Besides the fact that I was almost out of coffee beans and needed stop by El Grano de Oro to replenish my supply, in my humble opinion, the mercado is a “must see” for any visitor. Feeling a bit parched and ready for a break, we pulled up stools at Casilda Aguas Regionales and had to choose from their dazzling selection of fresh aguas. Refreshed, we resumed exploring the aisles of fruits and vegetables, fish and meats, clothing and jewelry, fresh flowers and souvenirs, mezcal and quesillo, and more.
Aguas lined up on the counter of Casilda Aguas Regionales
Hungry, tired, and on sensory overload, we walked back up the Alcalá to the tranquility, innovative architectural design, and savory flavors of Los Danzantes — the complementary mezcalito was an added bonus! Our late afternoon comida was a leisurely affair, as we reviewed the day and made plans for the next. B worried that we might be lingering too long, but I assured him, unlike the USA, restaurants in Mexico don’t rush diners.
Retractable ceiling and modern take on adobe walls at Oaxaca’s Los Danzantes restaurant
It was a lovely and delicious way to end the day. Stay tuned for Day 2, as we headed out of the city….
Reproduction cereusly
Posted in Casita Colibrí, Flora, Gardens, Science & Nature, tagged Black and white photography, flowers, garden, Mexico, Night Blooming Cereus, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, pistil and stamen, plants, stigma and anther on June 30, 2017| 1 Comment »
Late yesterday afternoon, it looked like a night blooming cereus blossom would burst open for it’s one night only orgy with the pollinators of darkness. I’m guessing the hours-long torrential tormenta that thundered over Oaxaca put a damper on the action. This morning found only an ever-so-slightly opened blossom. So here, in black and white, I bring to you, up close and personal, cereus reproductive organs in waiting.
If you slept through the birds and the bees unit of high school biology (or it was too long ago to remember) and now you can’t tell a pistil from a stamen or the stigma from the anther, check out this cool little graphic (also in black and white) from the American Museum of Natural History.
Framing the shot
Posted in Casita Colibrí, Flora, Gardens, tagged African tulip tree, Árbol de tulipán, Casita Colibrí, Flame Trees, garden, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, trees on June 24, 2017| 2 Comments »
A razor wire (aka, concertina wire) frame for an African Tulip tree blossom.
The rainy season not only brings lush greens, it brings the brilliant red-orange of the Árbol de tulipán to Oaxaca.
Guava grows on the terrace
Posted in Casita Colibrí, Flora, Gardens, tagged garden, guava, guayaba, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, Psidium rufum, purple guava, terrace garden, trees on June 15, 2017| 6 Comments »
What could be called, A terrace transformed – Phase 4, is currently underway at Casita Colibrí. A highlight is the addition of several trees, including a guava (known here as, guayaba) already bearing fruit. I see pitchers of agua de guayaba in my future.
Once this phase of my growing garden is finished, a blog post will no doubt result. Stay tuned…
Flora & fauna
Posted in Animals, Casita Colibrí, Flora, Gardens, tagged birds, cactus, flowers, gardens, hibiscus, lizards, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos on June 4, 2017| 4 Comments »
… from my rooftop garden in the city.
Opuntia – April 2017
Lizard on the terraza – June 2017
A feathered friend watching from a distance – June 2017
Hibiscus flower this morning – June 2017
Wild weather
Posted in Casita Colibrí, Gardens, Science & Nature, Weather, tagged garden, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, rain storms, storm damage, weather on May 23, 2017| 7 Comments »
A word to the wise, be careful what you wish for…
After almost two weeks of 90º+(F) temperatures, late this afternoon lightening flashed, thunder rumbled, gusty winds replaced still humid air, and on Tlaloc’s command, torrential rain and hail pounded Oaxaca city. Water began coming in closed doors and windows, plants and chairs overturned on the terrace, an empty concrete bag flew up and over a ten foot fence and across the forty-five feet of my terrace landing at my doorstep, and power went out for almost two hours.
This evening, at Casita Colibrí, plants have been righted, chairs have been retrieved and stacked, and flooded floors have been mopped. However, in other parts of the city, there are reports of trees and power lines down, massive flooding, and a roof collapsed at Central de Abastos. Initial news reports (en español):
Wistful
Posted in Casita Colibrí, Flora, Gardens, tagged flower of the day, flowers, garden, Mexico, Night Blooming Cereus, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, plants on May 21, 2017| 4 Comments »
This morning there were three… And, when I came out to greet my night blooming cereus, they looked wistful.
Remembering last night’s splendor? Or, reflecting on how fleeting their glory? Me? I’m appreciating their presence in my present.
Waiting your turn
Posted in Animals, Casita Colibrí, Gardens, tagged birds, chain link fence, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos on May 14, 2017| 2 Comments »
I have to chuckle every morning when I turn on the fountain — within seconds the birds begin arriving. Apparently, there is a pecking order for bathing. The chain link fence provides an open-air waiting room — a perfect perch for keeping an eye on the bathers below.
Some, like this little guy, are more patient than others.
Beneath the sheltering leaves
Posted in Agriculture, Flora, Food, Gardens, Travel & Tourism, tagged fruit trees, gardens, granadas, grapefruit, mango, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, pomegranate, Teotitlán del Valle, trees on May 2, 2017| 4 Comments »
Cooking with Juana… Mangos ripening just out of reach.
Sunlight filtering through the leaves of the granada (pomegranate) tree.
A pomelo (grapefruit) waiting to drop.
There is something to be said for outdoor kitchens.
Cereus small joys
Posted in Casita Colibrí, Flora, Gardens, Science & Nature, Travel & Tourism, tagged flowers, garden, Mexico, Night Blooming Cereus, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, plants on April 4, 2017| 4 Comments »
Friday night, around 9:45, I went out onto the terrace to turn on the security lights. But, who needs lights when my cereus was glowing in the dark, beckoning bats and other pollinators of the night?
By 9:30 on Saturday morning, the curtain and petals had begun to fall.
Saturday night, oblivious and readying for the dawn of daylight savings time, I turned the motion sensor lights on early and never gave the cereus a first, let alone second, glance. However, at 7:45 AM on Sunday morning, with coffee in hand, I went out on the terrace and couldn’t miss the show my night blooming cereus had staged while I slept.
Three hours later, the latest extravaganza had drawn to a close — but I see tiny buds waiting in the wings.
[There are] many other small joys, perhaps the especially delightful one of smelling a flower or a piece of fruit, of listening to one’s own or others’ voices, of hearkening to the prattle of children. And a tune being hummed or whistled in the distance, and a thousand other tiny things from which one can weave a bright necklace of little pleasures for one’s life.
…
My advice to the person suffering from lack of time and from apathy is this: Seek out each day as many as possible of the small joys, and thriftily save up the larger, more demanding pleasures for holidays and appropriate hours. It is the small joys first of all that are granted us for recreation, for daily relief and disburdenment, not the great ones.
— Hermann Hesse on Little Joys
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Something about the light…
Posted in Flora, Gardens, Travel & Tourism, tagged Abraham Lincoln quote, bicycles, bougainvilla, bougainvillea, John Gay quote, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, shadows on March 15, 2017| 8 Comments »
… and shadows in Oaxaca in March.
Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing. — Abraham Lincoln
Shadow owes its birth to light. — John Gay
Jazz in the garden
Posted in Culture, Flora, Gardens, Travel & Tourism, tagged bougainvillea, Casa Colonial, flowers, Mexico, mural, music, musicians, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations on March 1, 2017| 3 Comments »
Sunday afternoon at Casa Colonial in Oaxaca: Sun filtering through the trees of a lush tropical garden, the smell of hamburgers and hotdogs grilling on a barbecue, a friendly bartender, and a great jazz combo. What more could anyone want?
Thank you to the Casa’s owner Jane Robison and manager Amado Bolaños. It was a lovely way to spend a Sunday.
Thirsty?
Posted in Animals, Casita Colibrí, Gardens, tagged birds, fountain, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos on February 27, 2017| 1 Comment »
Yesterday, as my BFF and I sat outside drinking our morning coffee…
…we were joined on the terrace. Nothing like that first sip of the day!
Plumeria’s promise
Posted in Casita Colibrí, Flora, Gardens, Travel & Tourism, tagged flowers, frangipani, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, plumeria on February 23, 2017| 2 Comments »
A plumeria (aka, frangipani) blossoms on the terrace…
During this, the middle of a very dry, dry season, a perfumed promise of primavera.
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